Can't Get Rid of Me
by TwinKoi
Summary: Slight JasonXDick shipping. No matter how much Dick tries, he can't get Jason to answer his calls. Worry finally gets the best of him and goes to check up on the Red Hood at home...and finds an unpleasant sight. Warnings: A little bit of blood and swearing.


It was unlike Jason to flat out ignore Dick's every attempt to contact him. Even with the most minor pestering, Dick could at least pull an annoyed text from the ex-Robin along the lines of "shut up, or I'll hunt you down." As tense as their relationship was, Dick refused to turn his back on Jason, not this time. He considered Jason's revival to be his second change to be the brother to Jason he never was. Even if the other pushed him away every chance he got, he refused to back down.

And now he was obsessively testing the communicator in his ear, making sure it was still working; half hoping a malfunction was the reason Jason wasn't responding. He knew Jason was planning on clearing out another drug ring that night and the police scanner he was tapping into was reporting a gun fight that ended with multiple casualties. He prayed that Jason wasn't one of those casualties.

Dick's anxiety and worry would not give him any peace until his adoptive brother answered him. With a heavy sigh, he leaped from the building's edge he was crouched on, making his way to Jason's apartment. Landing on the fire escape just outside Jason's living room window, he carefully peered into the apartment. At first glance, it appeared the inside was undisturbed; an empty pizza box sat on the coffee table and the TV emitted a soft glow.

But as Dick leaned closer, he could see the trail of blood smeared across the floor from the front door, disappearing around the corner to the kitchen. His heart proceeded to try and jump out of his body via his throat as he wrenched the window open roughly, making the glass rattle in its frame. Leaping clear over the coffee table, he darted into the adjoining kitchen, skidding on the blood as he came to a halt before the kitchen table.

Time seemed to freeze as he tried to take in the sight before him. Jason was sitting at the table, a lit cigarette dangling from his lips. His leather jacket and helmet laid discarded on the table along side an open first aid kit, its contents haphazardly strewn across the worn table. The most unsettling part about the scene in front of him was Jason trying to dig a bullet out of his shoulder with nothing but a knife and his fingers.

Blood drooled down Jason's arm in a steady stream as he pressed deeper into the wound, wincing in pain as he growled around the cigarette. "Don't just stand there…"

"Oh! Jason! What happened?" Dick was yanked back to reality, quickly pulling up a chair next to him. He quickly swatted Jason's hands away from his wound, wrinkling his nose at how deep the hole was.

"What do you think happened, dumbass. I've had worse, I just can't grab the damn thing," Jason hissed, indulging himself in a long draw of his dwindling cigarette.

"Okay, okay…," Dick had to force himself to take a deep breath, trying to gather up his fraying thoughts. He tugged off his mask and gloves, leaning closer to get a better view. "Maybe we should take you to Alf-"

"Don't even say it! Like hell I'm letting you take me anywhere near that place!" Jason's voice grew deadly, fight alighting in his eyes.

Dick held up his hands, showing he had no intention of making Jason do anything. "Alright, Jay, we're not going anywhere, okay? Do you have any tweezers?"

Jason narrowed his eyes for a long, heavy moment, studying Dick's face before looking away with a snort, flicking the butt of his cigarette to floor carelessly. "Yeah, in the bathroom. Check the cabinet over the sink."

"Got it!" Dick eagerly jumped to his feet, running for the bathroom.

Jason couldn't help but roll his eyes at Dick's enthusiasm, even though deep down he was a little grateful for the help. Not that he would ever admit it.

Dick returned a few moments later; in that span Jason had lit another cigarette, pointedly ignoring Dick's disappointed gaze. "So I'm thinking about just leavin' the bullet in there," Jason grinned around the cigarette teasingly.

"No way, Jaybird," Dick countered with a determined and warm smile. Grabbing the bottle of rubbing alcohol from the first aid kit, he carefully poured some over the tweezers in an attempt to sterilize them. "Alright…this might hurt a little."

Jason was about to make a smart retort, but the air was sucked out of his lungs from the sharp pain shooting down his body. "S-Shit…," he found himself gripping onto the edge of the table tightly, his knuckles growing white.

"I-I'm sorry, Jay…," Dick forced out a weak apology, trying not to think about how much blood Jason was loosing as he poked around the wound, trying to locate the bullet. At first, he was met with only torn muscle and more blood, until the tweezers clicked against something metal.

"Found it!" Dick yelped in relief, sticking out his tongue in concentration as he tried to grab the slippery piece of metal. "Oh, come on…," he sighed with his brows knitted together as the bullet got away from him again.

"Just take your time, Dick…it's not like I'm bleeding out or anything," Jason drawled in an annoyed tone.

At first Dick thought it was just playful sarcasm, but one look at Jason and he could sense the urgency. Jason's lips were started to grow pale, with his hands uncontrollably trembling against the surface of the table. "I'm trying, Jay, I really am," Dick said firmly, doubling his concentration, determined not to let Jason down.

The prongs of the tweezers finally caught the edges of the bullet, allowing Dick to carefully pull it from Jason's shoulder. Dick let out an excited whoop, letting the bloodied tweezers and bullet drop to the table with a clatter. "Ha! See that? I make a pretty good nurse, huh?" Dick chattered happily, getting out the rest of the medical supplies to stitch and bandage Jason's wound.

Once Jason was all cleaned up, Dick sat back to admire his work; where there was once a gaping hole, now was a neat and white bandage taped in place against Jason's scared skin. "You know, how about next time you get shot, you answer my calls," Dick said with a smile, nudging Jason's knee.

"Don't push your luck," Jason answered with an amused smirk. He tried pushing himself up from the table, only to wince heavily.

"Hey, careful now." Dick rushed to Jason's side, taking Jason's weight as he helped him stand. He carefully got Jason's good arm over his shoulder, with a guiding arm around his waist. With Jason pressed against him, he could really appreciate just how much Jason had grown, not only in height, but it muscle mass. The younger man's body could easily match Bruce's, the exact opposite of Dick's light and lean body.

He stored the new information to the back of his mind, for now. He helped Jason hobble to the bedroom before gingerly lowering him to the mattress. Jason grunted and tried to ease his breathing, his eyes closed.

"Just take it easy for a while, okay?" Dick said as he started rooting around Jason's floor, gathering up a pair of discarded jeans.

Jason peeked open an eye, staring at Dick in confusion, "What the hell are you doing?" Dick had started unzipping his suit, right in front of Jason.

"Did you really think you could get rid of me so easily? Someone has to take care of you…and clean up all this blood."

Jason only groaned in annoyance and covered his eyes with a pillow, but that was the only fight he could muster against Dick staying.


End file.
